THE Welsh have come bottom of a poll of people most likely to give to charity during the festive period.

According to this year's Charity at Christmas Survey released by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS group), only 49% of Welsh people questioned said they were planning to donate to charity this Christmas, compared with the top scoring 64% of Yorkshire men and women.

The Scots came second with 62%, while the East Midlands came just above the Welsh with 50%.

Other findings from the survey included:

The average spend on Christmas this year is &#xA3;403. Over-65s are planning to give the highest percentage of their Christmas spend to good causes (10%), the lowest being 33 to 44-year-olds at only 5%.

The average donation to charity this Christmas is about &#xA3;28. In the South West it averages &#xA3;35, but in the North West only &#xA3;18.

While 61% of respondents give to charity through official street collectors and to on-street fundraisers, only 7% donate through their payroll which means their donation is tax-free.

The research was commissioned to coincide with a &#xA3;1m Christmas donation to charity this year by RBS group to celebrate the success of their "Give As You Earn" (GAYE) payroll giving scheme. RBS group is the only company in the UK which trebles staff donations made through the scheme.

The &#xA3;1m donation will be split between the top 10 charities staff donate to through GAYE.

Lord Joffe, chairman of The Giving Campaign, supports the initiative, saying, "RBS group's payroll giving is an example of just what businesses can achieve by taking giving seriously, and I hope their &#xA3;1m donation will act as a clarion call to other businesses to follow their lead."

Stephanie Allison, acting head of community investment for RBS group, said, "Our employees generate the highest amount of money donated to charity through payroll giving in the UK.

"So, it seemed an appropriate gesture to donate a further &#xA3;1m to charities currently supported by our staff through GAYE to celebrate this unprecedented success in payroll giving."

Research was carried out by TNS. 1,014 adults in the UK aged 16-plus were questioned by telephone between October 24 and 26 this year.